The utility of personal computing was originally focused at an enterprise level, putting powerful tools on the desktops of researchers, engineers, analysts and typists. That utility has evolved from mere number-crunching and word processing to highly programmable, interactive workpieces capable of production level and real-time graphics rendering for incredibly detailed computer aided design, drafting and visualization. Personal computing has more recently evolved into a key role as a media and gaming outlet, fueled by the development of mobile computing. Personal computing is no longer resigned to the world's desktops, or even laptops. Robust networks and the miniaturization of computing power have enabled mobile devices, such as cellular phones and tablet computers, to carve large swaths out of the personal computing market.
Mobile computing has transformed conventional notions of information accessibility and media dissemination. Network enabled devices are the new norm, connecting a wide variety of devices over a variety of networks. This has led to a proliferation of conventional, or “mainstream” content, as well as non-conventional, amateur, or home-made content. Going forward, not only will this content be available on virtually any mobile device, in addition to conventional outlets, but mobile devices can play the role of a media hub, gaining access to a plethora of content and forwarding it, or “pushing it out,” to one or more display devices, including televisions, computer monitors, projectors, or any device capable of receiving, decoding, and displaying streamed content. While typically thought of as clients, mobile devices, and more generally, virtually any computing device can play the role of a “media server.”
In a typical server-client remote graphics processing arrangement, graphics content is stored, retrieved, and rendered on a server. Frames of rendered content are then captured and encoded, generally at a frame rate that is either specified by a managing device or is simply part of a configuration. Captured and encoded frames are then packetized and transmitted over a network to a client as a video stream (often including audio). The client simply decodes the video stream and displays the content. Such a “thin-client” application can be easily portable to a variety of platforms.
As mobile computing continues to evolve with the growing focus on content accessibility and dissemination, the role of mobile devices will continue to expand. Typical client server boundaries will continue to fade and more people will rely on mobile devices as their client and server, depending on the content of interest.